Catechol is a general-purpose substance which has been used as a raw material for polymerization inhibitors, pharmaceutical products, agricultural chemicals, perfumes and the like, or as an oxidation inhibitor or a rubber vulcanizer, and is produced mainly by oxidizing phenol with hydrogen peroxide. However, in late years, from the viewpoints of escalating prices or a problem of exhaustion of fossil resources, and reduction of the emission of carbon dioxide as greenhouse gas, catechol is one of the chemicals which has been earnestly desired to be produced from renewable resources.
Various attempts have already been made. For example, as disclosed in Non-patent Document 1, there has been known a method for obtaining catechol at a yield of 33% from D-glucose via shikimic acid by microorganisms.
Furthermore, as disclosed in Non-patent Document 2, there has been known a method for obtaining catechol at a yield of 59% by conducting a reductive dehydration reaction with hydroiodic acid in acetic acid from D-glucose via 2-deoxy-scyllo-inosose.    Non-patent Document 1: J. Am. Chem. Soc. K. M. Draths and J. W. Frost, 1995, 117, pp. 2395-2400    Non-patent Document 2: Tetrahedron Letters, Katsumi Kakinuma et. al, 2000, 41, pp. 1935-1938    Non-patent Document 3: J. Am. Chem. Soc. C. A. Hansen and J. W. Frost, 2002, 124, pp. 5926-5927    Non-patent Document 4: Carbohydrate Research A. Lubineau and I. Billault, 1999, 320, pp. 49-60